It's Okay
by TheGladElf
Summary: Sakura finally admits to herself that she's moved on, and what she realizes surprises her. No spoilers. NaruHina and SasuSaku fans read at your own risk. One shot.


Sakura came out of the operating room, using a towel to wipe the blood off of her hands. Naruto's head shot up as soon as the young kunoichi walked through the door, his eyes asking the question that his newly returned friend beside him was too wrapped up in his own world to ask. Sasuke just stared at the floor, either unaware that Sakura had come out or afraid of what she had to say. Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, then looked at Sakura again. She nodded.

"Hey, Sasuke, she's okay," the blonde said. Slowly, Sasuke met Sakura's eyes, standing up. Naruto stood with him, his hand remaining where it was. Both men looked tired, but some of the old camaraderie that had existed between them as boys was back, it seemed that Sasuke really was back now, the old Sasuke.

"I didn't have enough charkra left to do much, but she'll live," the rose-haired girl said apologetically. "She'd fought hard and she was already injured before…" Sakura stopped. She wasn't going to rub in the fact that it Sasuke's blade that had almost killed Akimi. "It'll take a while for her to recover, but she's gonna be okay." Sasuke nodded. He seemed undecided, and she could see that he felt as though he shouldn't be there. "You can go in and see her, you know." The girl smiled encouragingly. The pale-skinned ninja looked at her for a moment, then nodded again as he entered the room.

"He though she was dead," Naruto murmured as the watched their friend disappear behind the door.

"So did I at first. But she managed to get herself run through without damaging too many of her vital organs. More than they already were at least."

"You look tired, Sakura," Naruto said. She nodded, pushing her hair out of her face. She felt about ready to fall over. Naruto draped an arm over her shoulder with his normal energetic cheer. "C'mon Sakura, let's go out to the roof." Sakura leaned on her friend as they climbed up the stairs. The fresh night air hit her face, she sighed. The look on Sasuke's face when he'd learned that Akimi wasn't dead kept replaying in her mind.

"He's in love with her," she observed as they came to a standstill. Some part of her said she should feel sad. So much of her life had revolved around her feelings for the Uchiha, but all she felt now was relief. Something inside her had changed in the years he'd been gone. She hadn't realized how much of a shadow he'd cast over the people she knew until he was gone and she could see how brightly they shone. One in particular had surprised her. She felt no guilt for her heart moving on now that she knew there was someone out there for Sasuke. Maybe it was time for her stop pretending that didn't feel the way she did.

There was an awkward pause. Naruto moved away from her a slightly, his eyes looking off into the distance. Not that there was much to look at. Naruto had been able to save the people, but he'd been too late to save the city. Most of the buildings were rubble now. And yet, until this moment, none of it had really fazed his smile. Especially since it was partly because of Sasuke's help that they'd been saved. No, he hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," he said softly, kicking at the ground as he continued to not look at her. His use of "chan" startled her, they hadn't been that formal with each other in ages. She'd didn't know when they'd dropped the honorifics, but it had been a long time ago.

"It's okay," she said, reaching out to take his hand. Naruto started at the contact, his eyes flying to hers, confused.

"But…"

"It's okay, Naruto," Sakura said again. "Now I don't have to feel bad about being in love with someone else."

"What! I mean…who?" He was all hyperactivity again, his slump forgotten as he tried to figure out just who she was talking about.

"Who do you think?" she said, leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek. Naruto turned bright red, and Sakura decided to leave the rooftop before he made a scene. Sure enough, before she could get far, he let out a whoop as his feet left the ground, one fist up in the air.

"Wait! Sakura, you mean ME!!!" he said, grabbing both of her hands. She giggled and he wrapped both arms around her waist, lifting her in the air as he swung her around and gave out another shout. Sakura grinned to herself as she held onto him. _I could get used to this._

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b1/7/b-WAH!!! This story is the most popular one I've written. Should have known, Naruto is a force to be reckoned with. SO many visits in just three days. Arigato gozaimasu! But don't forget, I have other stories that are desperately crying for attention (Ed is particularly loud). I'd love to see some of you lovely people in those little worlds I've borrowed!

b1/4/bOh man, I've joined the ranks...I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. And I got so many giggles out of it I figured there'd be some people out there who would too. So for those of you who loved this, YIPEE!!! For those of you who want to shake me...sorry *bows deeply*. I don't normally mess with perfectly good stories, but sometimes I get impatient and my mind starts going and this is what happens...normally it doesn't entertain me enough to get written down.

A slight note, Akimi is my own character from ages ago. But being a character I came up with so I could insert myself into the story and yell at people in my head, she's probably got a really bad case of Mary-Sue Syndrome, which is why she's mostly stayed in the alternate world I keep in my head. But for this story I needed someone for poor Sasuke and the storyline I put together for her fit the scenario I wanted for this story, so that's what's happening up there. I do think Sasuke's awesome, but I don't love him enough for him to end up with "the" girl. Sorry, if it's confusing.

I might still tweak this, there are some things I'm not sure about. R&R if you want...

P.S. People, I understand that not everyone agrees with the NaruSaku pairing. But please, if that's your only problem, please don't take the time to tell me I'm crazy or at least not over a review. You wanna message me and start a debate, that would be awesome! But honestly, nothing is set and until the master says this is it...we don't know who is right, so it's pointless to berate someone for an opinion. So, if you wanne give a good review with your highs, lows and even some constructive criticism, go ahead. But don't flood my review board with flaming and caps lock, please...Message me if you cannot keep silent, but don't tell me I suck because I'm not NaruHina or SasuSaku or any other random pairing that your mind has come up with.

b1/7/b-WAH!!! This story is the most popular one I've written. Should have known, Naruto is a force to be reckoned with. SO many visits in just three days. Arigato gozaimasu! But don't forget, I have other stories that are desperately crying for attention


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